Tory MPs have called for more targeted funding over the refugee crisis after seeing for themselves the “chaos” of camps housing those who have reached Europe.

Heidi Allen and Caroline Ansell have spoken of their shock at the lack of organisation on the Greek island of Lesbos for processing the thousands of migrants who are arriving every day.

After visiting refugee camps they have warned that Greek authorities have been left to deal with the problem “on their own” and struggle to keep track of those arriving from across the Mediterranean.

The MPs have also spoken of their horror that unaccompanied children are being dealt with in a former prison on the island surrounded by barbed wire.

Conservative MP Jo Churchill holds baby Sarah* during a visit to the Kara Tepe refugee camp in Lesvos, Greece Photo: Save the Children

In a meeting with the immigration minister on Tuesday they are expected to urge the government to focus on improving administration on the ground so the scale of the refugee crisis can be handled better.

The calls come after the charity Save The Children took three new Tory MPs – Ms Allen, MP for South Cambridgeshire, Ms Ansell, MP for Eastbourne, and Jo Churchill, MP for Bury St Edmunds – to visit refugee camps in Greece.

The country is the busiest entry point for refugees wanting to reach the European Union with almost 60,000 migrants having arrived in January alone.

Conservative MP Heidi Allen listens to a Greek aid worker on the lookout for refugee boats off the coast of Lesvos Photo: Save the Children

Speaking to The Telegraph after the trip, the MPs described their shock at the scale of the suffering at the island's camps and warned about the lack of administration logging those who arrive.

Ms Allen said the island was “overwhelmed” by the scale of arrivals and said that there was an 18-month backlog registering some refugees.

“It just struck me that the Greek authorities, who we know are economically on their knees anyway … have just been dealing with this almost on their own,” she said.

“There are lots of charities out there trying to do their bit brilliantly and fantastically but everything needs coordinating.”

Conservative MP Caroline Ansell chats to Syrian mother Samar* and her two month-old daughter Nahla*, inside Save the Children's Child Friendly Space during a visit to the Kara Tepe refugee camp on Lesvos, Greece. Photo: Save the Children

She said the main building processing arrivals on the island was a former prison camp surrounded by barbed wire – “the worse looking building you can imagine” – and called for a renewed international effort to improve facilities.

Ms Ansell said that she had been struck by a “powerful sense of the numbers on the move” and the “vast scale” of the humanitarian effort needed, as well as the personal stories of those that had arrived.

She was also concerned about the limited manpower helping build new processing facilities, warning: “We have to make sure the funds are getting to the front line as quickly as possible.”

The Tory MPs said they would highlight the importance of British funds being used efficiently and having real impact on the front line during a meeting with James Brokenshire, the immigration minister, on Tuesday.

Ms Allen said: “The message is that yes, the money we’re sending is absolutely the right thing to do, but it needs more coordinating.”